The Growing Pains of Remus J Lupin
by Styx1
Summary: Remus J. Lupin has lead a rather tragic life, and as a werewolf it's a wonder he's still able to keep his calm and caring aura. I'm not sure if I wanna make this a slashy fic or not, so please comment what you think! I'm not very good at summaries, so...
1. Remembrance

The Growing Pains of Remus Lupin  
  
Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, I don't own, don't sue, don't flame =D  
  
If someone is willing to Beta for me, please let me know at melinda-89@msn.com, gracias.  
  
A/N: This is my first Fanfic, so please be gentle! Comments would be greatly appreciated! They ARE what keep me goin'!  
  
*asterisks* mean thoughts  
  
Chapter One: Remembrance  
  
A cold and dark night was present in the thick boardered woods, a thin mist hanging over the ground. In the year of 1968, a young boy was out on the full moon. Brown eyes flecked with gold looked nervously around. His mother had always told him to stay clear of the woods, but since he was lost he really didn't have a choice. A snap of a twig was enough to draw Remus Lupin's attention back to reality, and he whipped around to where he heard the distraction. "H-hello?" came his stuttering voice, which seemed to ring in the chilling silence. An unwelcome breeze whisped a few rogue strands of his light brown hair into his pale visage. It was then when he saw it.  
  
A rather large, brown, wolf-like figure appeared out of the nearby thicket, silent as the night itself. Remus felt his heart start to beat rapidly and could have sworn the sound was enough to draw the werewolf closer. He felt himself subconciously backing away, trying to remember his mother's voice in his head. *"Now, Remus, if you ever encounter a werewolf alone, be sure to stay still and don't move."* Well, it was too late for that. He felt the soft 'thud' of his back and a nearby tree trunk contacting, and he jumped in suprise.   
  
The wolf let out a low growl and approached him closer, his muzzle tilted hellwards. The yellow eyes never left Remus, sending shivers down the boy's spine. Soon enough they were face to face, and it was then he realized that the wolf was about the same size as him. Too afraid to move, the boy just stood where he was, backed against a tree with a dangerous dark creature a mere few inches away. He could hear the distant voice of his mother crying out his name. He suddenly started to panic, if possible, even further than before.  
  
*Oh God, what if she comes closer? What if the wolf goes after her? She doesn't know...*  
  
He heard the familiar snap of twigs for the second time that night, signalling his mother's approaching footsteps. He felt an adrenaline rush as he heard his mother's voice more clearly through the thich misty air. Now was the time to do something, anything, as the wolf turned to face the new figure. He slowly made to move away from the dark creature infront of him, but as soon as he did the wolf snapped back at him, baring his teeth dangerously. His mother was now in veiw, and the thing Remus was dreading happened. She screamed.  
  
"No!"   
  
Without a second thought, the boy sped as fast as he could away from the werewolf, just barely missing it's fury, and headed to his mother. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away as much as he could from the wolf until she got the message and followed next to him. Suddenly, Remus' foot found a protruding root from a nearby tree, and he fell forward with a soft 'thud' on the cold ground. Apparently his mother hadn't noticed, because he could hear her footsteps growing more distant by the second.  
  
He must have hit something, because his vision was starting to blur, and he started to feel numb. Maybe it was the mist around him, or maybe it was from the stress and the fall altogether. Whatever it was, he still felt horrid. His heart beating a mile a minute, his vision fading rapidly, and to top it all off a cold sweat taking over him, making him feel feint. He tried to sit himself up on his knees, but was only able to groan and collapse back on the ground.  
  
But then...  
  
The growling came closer, he could hear the padding of paws on the earth around him. All he could do was prey that the low hanging mist covered him from sight, yet he knew his ragged breathing was sure to allure the wolf his way. Sure enough, he could hear the low breathing of the creature just inches from his ear. He shivered involuntarily, closing his eyes tightly. This was it, he would never see his mother again...he would never see another day.  
  
A harsh scream echoed throughout the thick woods that night, as the full moon shone brightly over the treetops.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
Remus woke with a start, panting jaggedly. He glanced around in alarm, a cold sweat once again taking over him. The Gryffindor Common Room...that meant it was another flashback. He sighed deeply, rubbing his tired eyes as he stood up from the overstuffed common room chair he was reclining in. The book on his lap spilled to the floor, and he realized he must have been reading when he dozed off.  
  
He shook the remaining thoughts of the dream from his mind. It was 1976, eight years later, and yet the night's events still remenisced to him. The stair railing met his extended hand as he blindly made his way up the stairs to the boy's dormatories, the other hand running over his face. He opened the door slowly so as not to wake any of his fellow roommates. "Thanks for waking me, guys," he muttered crossly as he made his way to his bed. He took a seat on the fourposter, loosening his tie and setting it on the nightstand nearby. He set his elbows on his knees and put his forhead in his hands.   
  
"When will this end...?"  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
A/N: Yay! Sorry this chapter was a little short...but I just had to get things up and running. Please let me know how I'm doing, this is my first time actually WRITING a FF. Also, I'm not recruiting for a beta reader! Full credit and all, you know the deal.  
  
##---Styx--- 


	2. Stratagem

Disclaimer: Yah yah, don't own, don't sue, don't flame.  
  
A/N: Alrighty, I've decided this is...NOT going to be a slashy fic. Sorry all, maybe I'll make one later though in the near future... By the way, I'm open to suggestions via comments.  
  
again, *asterisks* mean thought since I don't have Word and have to write on stupid Notepad...*grumble*  
  
AND I STILL NEED A BETA! *cough*....enjoy.  
  
Chapter 2: Stratagem  
  
"Hey, Remus, you ok?"  
  
Remus Lupin snapped out of his daze when he felt the hand of one Sirius Black on his shoulder. He looked up at his rather tall friend and gave a wary smile. "What...?" he said quickly, noticing that both James and Peter were looking at him as well.  
  
Sirius was a tall and spontanious companion with dark hair that fell to his shoulders and eyes just as dark. James was about the same height as Remus, unruly black hair and dark hazel eyes. Peter...well...he was the shortest of all of them. Rather a mousy kind of boy, with pale blonde hair and a shrunken figure.   
  
"I asked if you were alright..." Sirius repeated, raising an eyebrow and giving Remus a curious look. The werewolf cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine," came his reply as he continued pace to the Great Hall. His thoughts were still back to last night, and as he tried to sleep he could hear his friends already rising.   
  
"Is is about..." Sirius' voice trailed off slowly as they reached the wooden doors to the Hall, yet Remus knew what he meant. He shook his head for two reasons; one being that it wasn't about his 'condition' (as he so vividly puts it) and two being to drop it now that they were in the company of listening ears. Of course, the first part was only half true, yet he didn't say anything about it. Yet.  
  
The four took a seat near the end of the Gryffindor table just as the breakfast appeared. Peter, probably the most anxious of them all, dove right in to serve himself ungodly portions of eggs and bacon. "Gentlemen," Sirius said in his 'attention-over-here' voice, "Ladies," he added glancing at Peter pointedly as he stuffed himself with sausages. He paused only to growl at Sirius, but didn't say anything as he continued to eat.   
  
"The plan will commence. We have to do this quick before the winter break, mind, so I suggest sometime this week..."  
  
Remus looked up at Sirius curiously while James was clapping as if his friend had just declared world peace. "Wonderful! I can't wait to see the look on our slimy friend's face!"   
  
At this point everyone (i.e. the four of them) all glanced at the Slytherin table. There, a pale dark haired boy stood out like a sore thumb, especially sitting next to his platinum blonde friend, Malfoy. Severus Snape took a second to glance at the four Gryffindors before looking back at his food muttering to Lucius.  
  
"Wait...what plan?" Remus brought their attention back to the table infront of him with this question directed to Sirius. However, initially it was intended to the other two as well, since they seemed to know what was going on. "Oh," Sirius paused to look at his friend. "Well, I don't think we should talk about it in broad daylight..." he said seriously as if taking on the role of some noble General in battle.  
  
"Well, then I guess I was in broad daylight when you discussed it," Remus countered with an annoyed look.  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
Sirius, James, and Remus all glanced at Peter who cowered back as though he said something upsetting. Which was actually half right. "Just eat, Peter..." Sirius said with a sigh, looking back at the two.  
  
Remus didn't say anything in reply, he just looked down at his food and remained quiet. Guessing that he was trying to drop the subject, Sirius went back to talking animatedly with James. *Why wouldn't they tell me? They've always told me before...* Apparently he had been frowning or something to that effect, because he felt a nudge from James. "Hey, don't look so down, kay?"   
  
----------------------------------------------  
  
"I don't know, guys, maybe we should tell him?"  
  
While Remus was presumably in the library, the remaining three Marauders held a conversation in the Boys' Dormatories. "Peter, if we told him, the obvious answer would be 'no'...I mean think about it, he's always touchy about that subject," James and Peter both nodded in agreement to the statement made by Sirius. "I just feel bad plotting something behind his back...it's almost as bad as pulling the prank on him," Peter mumbled looking at the ground.  
  
"Hey, when will we ever get another oppertunity to do this? This is the chance we've been waiting for! Maybe he'll get bitten if we're lucky."  
  
The three sat in an uncomfortable silence for what seemed like hours, until James broke the silence. "Remus won't even know about it, Peter. He'll forget about it eventually...and I'd also like to thank -Sirius- for bringing it up at breakfast." He nudged the latter in the ribs pointedly. "Almost blew our cover..."  
  
Remus backed away from the doorway of the Boys' Dormatories crestfallen, retreating back to the library.  
  
----------------------------------------------  
  
A/N: Alright, very sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I'll make up for it in the next one! I promise! Just...um...comment? It's the little button down there *points*  
  
##---Styx--- 


End file.
